Winter Weather — Eastern Curry County & Josephine County, Oregon

2017-01-01 to 2017-01-04 · Eastern Curry County & Josephine County, Oregon

Event narrative

Spotter reports: Selma, 7.0 inches of snow at 02/0743 PST; 1W Williams, 8.5 inches of snow at 02/0842 PST; 5NNW Wilderville, 5.0 inches of snow at 02/0837 PST; 5NNE Selma, 7.0 inches of snow overnight, as of 02/0853 PST; Selma, 7.5 inches of snow at 02/0941 PST; 4W Merlin, 11.0 inches of snow overnight, as of 0202/0805 PST; 2SSW Obrien, 12.0 inches of snow in 18 hours, as of 02/1638 PST; 2WSW Obrien, 12.0 inches of snow, 6 last night and 6 today, as of 02/1537 PST; 2WSW Obrien, 12.0 inches of snow in 12 hours, as of 03/0650 PST; 1ENE Obrien, 10.0 inches of snow in 24 hours, as of 03/0739 PST; 5NNE Selma, 20.0 inches of snow in 48 hours, as of 03/0918 PST; Selma, 7.5 inches of snow in 24 hours, 17 inches in 48 hours, as of 03/0805 PST; 1W Williams, 14.5 inches of snow in 48 hours, as of 03/0900 PST; Selma, 10.0 inches of snow overnight, with snow depth of 18 inches, as of 03/1327 PST; 1SSE Murphy, 10.5 inches of snow in 24 hours, as of 04/0800 PST; 1W Williams, 14.0 inches of snow in 24 hours, as of 04/0851 PST; 2WSW Obrien, 9.0 inches of snow in 16 hours, as of 04/0830 PST.

Public reports: 7E Cave Junction, 10.0 inches of snow as of 02/1458 PST; 3WSW Wilderville, 14.0 inches of snow as of 03/1800 PST; 4SW Merlin, 15.0 inches of snow as of 03/1700 PST; Kerby, 24.0 inches of snow as of 03/1700 PST; 4WSW Wilderville, 18.0 inches of snow as of 03/1700 PST, 2SSW Cave Junction, 20.0 inches of snow as of 03/1700 PST; 4SSW Sunny Valley, 24.0 inches of snow as of 03/1600 PST; Cave Junction, 24.0 inches of snow as of 03/1600 PST; 5SW Merlin, 7.0 inches of snow as of 03/2136 PST; 1W Williams, 9.0 inches of snow in 24 hours, 21 inches snow depth as of 03/2200 PST; 3ESE Grants Pass, 7.0 inches of snow in 7.5 hours, 11.5 inches of snow on ground with a large tree down, as of 03/2239 PST.

CoCoRAHS reports, 24 hour snowfall as of 02/0900 PST: 1N Williams, 10.0 inches; 2SW Obrien, 8.2 inches; 6.8SE Selma, 13.1 inches; 0.4ENE Cave Junction 8.4 inches.

CoCoRAHS reports, 24 hour snowfall as of 03/0900 PST: 2SW Obrien, 11.0 inches.

Cooperative Observer reports: Williams 1NW reported 10.0 inches of snow in 24 hours ending at 04/0800 PST.

Wider weather episode

Two fronts combined with an usually cold air mass already in place to bring heavy snow to many portions of southwest and south central Oregon. This storm had an unusually severe impact due to the low snow levels, all the way down the the coastal beaches. Some areas that usually only get a few inches of snow in a season got as much as two feet over several days. There were numerous reports of power outages and tree damage. Traffic along major highways, including Interstate 5, was shut down at times, and there were numerous traffic accidents. Many people were stranded on the roads or in their homes. There were widespread school closures, many closed for the entire week. There was one fatality due to a traffic accident.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 666274. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.